As a NATO member nation, Turkey has supported U.S. global security measures in the past, such as hosting U.S. military capabilities during the Cold War. While the Turkish policy with the Kurds has been long standing, the U.S. decision to use them as a security device is relatively recent.

Reliance on credit cards and overspending has caused unwanted inflation and crippled Turkey’s commercial market. The current taxation methods were intended as a solution to this overspending, but instead created a shadow market for alcohol.

On January 29, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., hosted a panel of digitally connected journalists, activists, and United Nations and United States Department of State personnel entitled “Diplomacy in the Participatory Age.”